When the Saints Cry
by Like a Snowflake
Summary: After seeing Ushiromiya Ange get bullied to death by nearly everyone at St. Lucia's, seven students promise to stay true to each other so they never have to endure what she went through. This becomes the catalyst for deceit, heartbreak and murder.
1. The Side of St Lucia Ange Never Saw

**Disclaimer: I don't own Umineko no Naku Koro ni, that belongs to the genius Ryukishi07, but I own everything/every character in this fanfic that isn't in Umineko :) **

**This arc is dedicated to ThebloodyDevina, who is my "inspiration" for this arc ;) First chapter's finally up, Devina!**

Arc 1: The Usuals

Chapter 1: The Side of St. Lucia Ange Never Saw

"Good morning!"

"Good morning~"

"…Good morni – "

"I wasn't talking to _you_."

Ushiromiya Ange flinched. Anyone could see that the girls' giggles cut through her like knives; she should've known better than to think someone was actually talking to _her_. The school loner. The girl with the weird hair bobbles that weren't right for her age, the person with absolutely no one to eat with during lunch. Who no one would even _want_ to eat with for lunch.

The absolute outcast.

"Ushiromiya-san?"

Out of nowhere, a short, blue haired girl appeared in front of her.

(—I think I've seen her somewhere before, she looks kind of familiar—)

Why can't these people just leave Ushiromiya alone? What did they get out of being mean to her every single day? Or were they all really sadists?

"Do you want to eat with lunch with us today? My friends would ask too but they're too shy—they're afraid you'd flat out refuse." The girl grinned. An attempt at friendship, or a display of sadism?

"If you have friends then you don't need me there," said the loner, and quickly turned away. Poor girl. I wouldn't be mean to her if I ever came across her, but she would probably be mean to _me_. She's scary, that's why no one likes her. Or maybe she's scary _because_ no one likes her…

Girls can go to great lengths to make someone's life miserable. Maybe that's why most of my friends are guys. They aren't nearly as confusing. I don't remember for the life of me why I chose to go to an all girls' school in the first place…

"I told you it would be hopeless. She'd make our lunchtime all gloomy anyway." A black haired girl had come up from behind Blue Girl and casually started talking with her as they meandered towards my direction. Oh, right, they were both in my first period class, no wonder Blue Girl seemed familiar.

Blue Girl pouted. "Oh well. I thought she'd want to eat with someone for once. She's always sitting at the back of the school reading that diary of hers like it's the only thing that matters, while she can hear the laughter from the cafeteria loud and clear; isn't that torture?"

"Ha, she probably thinks you were just feeling sorry for her. She's the kind of person who thinks everyone hates her, when really, most of us couldn't care less. Just leave her alone, Arisa. Life's better without pathetic, cynical people like her. "

"Look who's talking, Lee Mei! You're the most cynical person I know! And it was _your_ suggestion to ask Ushiromiya-san in the first place! Then you backed down at the last second because you were _scared_—"

"I was being sarcastic! Who wants to hang out with such a depressed person?" Lee smirked, "Arisa, you're really gullible, you know."

"I'm not gullible!" Arisa laughed back, their casual banter sounding so similar to the hateful giggles that had driven Ushiromiya away in the first place. It's creepy how some girls are so good at blurring the line between friendliness and bitchiness—

BAM!

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

It was a bad idea to listen to other people's conversations when walking in a crowded hallway, hurrying to your first class of the day.

"I'm sorry!" The response automatically slips from my lips and I'm already bending down and picking up the textbooks and binders and loose papers and pencils and pens and who knows what else, the floor's a mess and no one's stopping to help me.

No one's stopping to help me?

I look up, frowning, only to see one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen in my life. The kind that literally makes you sick with self-consciousness. I know I'm not pretty at all, which makes it worse.

And she's not helping to pick up her stuff, either.

I open my mouth to rebuke her about making me do all the work, but it sounds like a childish complaint. For a moment I hesitate, and the words come out stuttered.

"H-how come...you…you're not…"

"Hurry _up_," she snapped, "If I'm late for class, it'll be _all your fault!_"

Shocked at the venomous tone, I wordlessly hand over her things. She isn't so pretty on the inside, I guess.

"That was mean! She made you pick up everything like a servant. You okay?"

Arisa is suddenly standing over me. If she cared, why didn't she help me when everything was scattered?

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled.

"I was going to help you, but people were rushing everywhere and when I finally reached you, Reiko-san was gone, so…we better get to class anyway. We _are_ in the same class, right? Heh, sorry, I have really bad memory but thought you looked familiar. I'm Rusoko Arisa. What's your name?"

I relaxed a bit under her upbeat, cheerful attitude. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"I'm Hikaru Arisu..."

**A/N: Been working on this fic for a loooooong time, just haven't had the chance to start uploading it until now. I was planning to start putting this up AFTER my other fanfic, but the impatient side of me had other ideas, so here you go :D**** Also, the "M" rating won't kick in for a while, at least until most/all of the main characters are introduced.**


	2. The Intruder

**Disclaimer: Don't own Higurashi/Umineko, but I own all these OCs!**

Arc 1: The Usuals

Chapter 2: The Intruder

I love how St. Lucia Academy was one of the few schools in Tokyo that offered French. Only students who were forced by their parents or actually serious about using French in the future took it, so the classes were always small, making it was easy for me to become one of the top students in my class.

I'm not saying I'm _the_ top student! No, that person would be –

"Yo, are you even _listening_ to me?"

Hanako Yukina.

"_Hikaru-san._"

(Who also has a bad temper. It makes her pretty scary, but I don't really mind.)

"Honestly, if I have to explain this all over again, I'm going to fucking punch –"

"I'm sorry!" I cried belatedly. It's kind of hard to pay attention to her when I'm narrating this story, of course.

She only loses her temper around people she knows, though. I mean, when I see her talk in class, she acts polite but serious…or dead.

(Bored.)

Maybe losing her temper with me means she doesn't consider me a stranger, right?

And if we're not strangers, then we're probably friends!

"_Hikaru-san!_"

Maybe.

"O-ok! I'm sorry…what?"

Hanako sighed.

"Screw this, learn how to do it by yourself, Hikaru-san. I really have to go now for violin lessons so there's no more time for me to teach you. Just figure it out on your own."

"Alright, I can do that," I said easily. Hanako looked at me weirdly. She probably thought I was terrified because I kept apologizing. That's not exactly true.

I just really can't help it. 'I'm sorry' is such a convenient phrase! I mean, I can say it anywhere, anytime.

"Well, I'll be going now," muttered Hanako. She was back to her polite, serious, reasonably dead self. However, as she turned toward the library doors, someone burst through from the other side.

And pointed straight at her.

"IMOUTOASAKURAHIMESEMPAI!"

Hanako turned back to glare at me. My wide eyes stared back.

"…"

"…"

"…Hikaru-san."

"Yeah?"

"Did you _plan_ this?"

"Nope!"

"You do know I have to go now, right?"

"Yup!"

"So why, the moment I decide to leave, does this person burst into the library and _scream at the top of her lungs? _At ME?"

"No idea! Never met the girl. Anyways, it's a good thing the librarian isn't here right now, isn't it?" I answered calmly.

"That's not the _point_, Hikaru-san!"

"You! I…_I know you_," the intruder whispered, grabbing Hanako's shoulder from behind. Her uniform showed that she was a St. Lucia student, but it's such a big school that I'd never seen her before. And despite her staring at Hanako like she was a long lost relative…Hanako violently shrugged her off, disturbed.

Seems like Hanako had never seen her before either.

In her life.

"You're Imouto Asakurahime-sempai, aren't you?" gasped the girl. Her lush lavender locks bounced around her face as she squealed with excitement. She was not deterred by the fact that Hanako had just shunned her. "I've been looking for you _everywhere!_ I'm your cousin, Imouto Sakura! It's awesome to meet you!"

Wow, and I thought Arisa-san was bubbly. Hanako remained silent, and Imouto's enthusiasm seemed to deflate, just a little.

"You _are_ Imouto Asakurahime-sempai, aren't you?" her voice switched from excited and confident to pleading and desperate in a heartbeat. Hanako didn't (couldn't?) respond.

Like I said, guys aren't nearly as confusing.

"But sempai, don't you remember me? Remember when we went camping and you fell onto an ant hill and I laughed at you forever? Or the time where you scared me while I was baking and I splattered hot dough all over you? Or at Halloween, when you lost our bet and you had to wear the really lacy, skimpy, two piece bi—"

"_No_," Hanako deadpanned. She'd finally had enough. I found it kind of amusing to see Hanako lose her temper again. Maybe these two would become friends!

"But you look just like—"

"First of all, my name isn't...whatever you just called me. Second of all, I can't be your sempai because I'm a first year student. Third of all, there's no way I could ever be your cousin, because _I have absolutely no idea who you are. I don't remember ever meeting you before in my entire life. _And trust me, I have a great memory."

"…oh."

"Yeah, that's right," Hanako muttered. She slyly tried to step around Imouto to get to the library doors.

"Wait!" Imouto grabbed Hanako's shoulders. She was trapped. "Eat lunch with us!"

"_What?" _Hanako scowled.

"Lunch, tomorrow! With me, Arisa-chan, Mei-san and Sadako! If you're really not my cousin, we can still get to know each other better, right?" The look on Hanako's face said she didn't agree. But, wait a second, did Imouto just say...

"Wait, you know Arisa-san?" I blurted out.

For the first time, Imouto Sakura noticed me. Looking at her directly, she was really quite pretty. Not unearthly beautiful like Reiko, but more like those girls who always get their makeup and hair just right, every single day. Not that I'm jealous or anything. I just can't see myself waking up extra early every day just to put on makeup and do my hair while I'm half asleep, not in a million years. And I don't want to.

Imouto grinned and let go of Hanako's shoulders at last. "You know Arisa-chan too? Why don't you both eat lunch with us tomorrow then? Just find us in the cafeteria. Sadako's hair is a bright cyan, you won't miss it. Her head's like a neon blueberry, haha~"

Okay. Rusoko Arisa may be bubbly. Imouto Sakura…was something else altogether.

(_A neon blueberry?)_

Weird as that sounds, I wouldn't mind having someone to eat with, let alone five people.

For a moment a wave of guilt coursed through me as I remembered Ushiromiya-san. By this point, she probably preferred to eat alone, to spare her the pain of exclusion. Maybe it hurt less if you _chose_ to be alone, rather than having others decide that for you.

"Oh, where did that girl go? Wow, I didn't even get her real name," Imouto frowned.

Then I remembered Hanako Yukina.

She was nowhere to be seen.

She must've escaped the moment Imouto relinquished her vice-like grip on Hanako's poor shoulders.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I had my science exam today and there was a question about the secondary colours of light, and cyan is my favourite light colour. Just had to include it somehow :)**

**BubblesPopx: It's LONGER. :P**


	3. Lunchtime at St Lucia's Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Umineko or Higurashi, but I own all of these OCs :)**

**Thanks to Christinopher for her memories ^_^ And XxEntityofHopexX, too ;)**

**To the readers, thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

><p><span>Arc 1: The Usuals<span>

Chapter 3: Lunchtime at St. Lucia's Part 1: Order in the Court

_Neon blueberry._

_Neon blueberry._

_Neon blueberry…_

This wasn't working.

Here I was, looking among the tons of heads in St. Lucia's gigantic cafeteria for a girl with hair that was supposed to stand out. The problem was, in the anime world, nearly everyone's hair stands out. For example, mine's bright orange, while Imouto-san's hair is light lavender, and even Reiko-san's hair was such a pale shimmering silver it was practically white…Basically, a neon blueberry in this cafeteria wouldn't be that obvious. At this rate, I'll have to go back to eating with the one other girl from my junior high who I'm not really friends with…

Or I could just ask someone.

I should have done that a long time ago.

"U-Um… have you seen Rusoko Arisa-san? Or…Imouto Sakura-san, or…"

My voice trailed off as the person turned around to face me. It was the Reiko girl.

Of all people.

"Oh, are you eating lunch with them?" she asked incredulously. How rude of her. Was Reiko-san laughing at me? "So am I! Let's find them together." She immediately linked her arm through mine.

Huh?

It's like we'd never met before.

Reiko tugged at my arm as she wove through the cafeteria tables with an intensely focused expression on her face, searching for—

"Where's the neon blueberry…the neon blueberry…can't find the neon blueberry…"

I stared at her.

Reiko-san was told to find a neon blueberry too?

Okay, maybe this was all Imouto-san's fault. Our only hope now is if I see Arisa-san or Imouto-san…

Suddenly, her voice floated clear over the cafeteria din. "Over here! Over heeeere!"

In the far, far corner beside the back doors of the cafeteria, Imouto-san was waving her hand wildly—who knows how long she's been trying to get our attention! As we got closer I noticed that the Mei Lee girl I had seen talking to Arisa-san the other day was there too, along with…the neon blueberry. Whatever her name was. Oblivious to everyone around her, Arisa-san seemed incredibly quiet and calm as she was reading a manga, her bento sitting forlornly on the table. It was funny to see her so serious for once. To my surprise, Hanako-san was there too, sitting directly to the right of the wildly waving hand of Imouto-san. Hanako-san was probably dragged here, as she didn't look comfortable at all. I couldn't help but smile. As we reached the table, Imouto stood up dramatically, to the alarm of Hanako-san.

"Guys, I also invited two other people to eat with us today!" Imouto-san announced grandly. "So…what are your names anyway?"

"You invited them and you don't even know their names. Do you even know mine? Because I'm sure I never told you." Hanako-san looked ready to bang her head on the table repeatedly.

"W-well I'll just call you Asakurahime-sempai for now—"

"It's _Hanako Yukina_! _That's_ my name! The girl with the orange hair, that's Hikaru Arisu-san. The other girl, that's Nishimura Reiko-san. Did you even ask your other friends if they mind us being here?"

This time, the blueberry answered.

"Of course not! At least, I don't mind. Hi guys! I'm Michiko Sadako! Nice to meet you!" And the blueberry has spoken. So her name was Michiko-san. Another one of those cheerful people.

"…hey. I'm Lee Mei." And this one wasn't.

"Hello!" I said cheerfully (of course I could never match Arisa-san or Imouto-san in sheer happiness). The blueberry—no, _Michiko-san_ waved back enthusiastically while Lee-san just stared. Oh well…these people seemed nice. I'll probably get along with Lee-san and Michiko-san in no time, though the latter looked much easier to talk to.

"What's this? Oh? Boys!" Reiko-san exclaimed, as she bent down to pick up what looked like a picture of five boys posing like they were a Korean boy band or something. It was pretty rare to see members of the opposite sex at St. Lucia Academy, a strictly Catholic, all girls school. Reiko-san's sudden enthusiasm was not that surprising.

Wait. That was my picture. Of my five closest guy friends. An idiotic bunch of course, but they were decent people once you got to know them. It never went well in the past when other people found out how many guy friends I have. This time, however, I didn't mean to show anyone this picture! It's of my friends being at their most—their most—idiotic! They look like stupid chingsters! I must have dropped the picture without noticing, but the last time I remember seeing it was before I left home…Oh no! I've been holding it the whole time? And no one had noticed until now? I need to get it back from Reiko-san before she shows everyone!

"Hey guys! Look at this, don't these guys look cute?"

Too late.

Wait, _cute_?

_Well, maybe one of them, but…_

I groaned inwardly as the photo was passed from person to person around the table. The only thing I could do now was sit down, start eating, and pretend I had no connection to those boys at all.

"See? They look awesome, like a Korean boy band! Their hair, their clothes…" Reiko-san and Imouto-san were already gushing over them.

If only they knew their true personalities.

"His head is so big," Hanako-san smirked as the picture was passed on to her. Finally, someone who could see past these boys' "perfect" façade! "And the guy on the right! His smile is so big and his eyes are too squinty…it's like he's trying too hard to be Asian!"

Exactly! Thank you Hanako Yukina-san!

"Exactly. They're all just wannabes! Not worth our lunchtime!" Lee-san deadpanned.

Thank you Lee Mei! You guys are all better than I expec—

"But the guy on the right is wearing a top hat," Michiko-san whispered.

…so?

"Sadako…" Imouto-san muttered.

"It's a top hat."

"_Sadako…_" Lee-san hissed urgently.

"Didn't you hear me? I said HE HAS A TOP—"

"NO, SADAKO!" Lee cried out. Imouto-san grabbed the nearest water bottle. Which just happened to be Hanako-san's.

This could get ugly.

"TOP HATS ARE THE BEST! NO MATTER WHO WEARS THEM! _THEY. ARE. THE. BEST. RIGHT? RI—_"

"That's not true." Hanako-san cut smoothly through Michiko-san's mini rant. "This guy in the picture just can't pull it off. He looks silly. Like a child playing dress-up—"

"NO! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! THE GUY WITH THE TOP HAT IS THE BEST—"

"NO! I LIKE THE GUY ON THE LEFT BETTER! THE GUY WITH THE BIG HEAD!" Reiko-san shouted over Michiko-san.

"BUT THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIM LOOK STUPID! I SAID THE GUY WITH THE TOP HAT IS—"

"WHY DON'T YOU PEOPLE GET IT? THIS IS A PICTURE OF FRICKN WANNABES! THIS IS A WASTE OF TI—" Lee-san yelled—

"WHAT SHE SAID! WHAT SHE SAID!" I shouted out suddenly. It was so easy to get caught up in all the screaming, and Lee-san was absolutely right—

**_BANG!_**

"ORDER IN THE COURT! ORDER IN THE _COURT_!" Imouto-san screamed at the top of her lungs, bringing her fist down onto the table and rattling our trays while putting a huge dent in Hanako-san's metal water bottle. Wow, Imouto-san was strong. Her pretty girl image had pretty much gone out the window. Hanako-san, outraged, opened her mouth to protest, but the war of words continued.

"WE ARE NOT IN A FUCKING COURT, SAKURA!" screamed Lee-san.

(Hanako-san's eyes narrowed.)

"HA! NO ONE DISAGREES WITH ME ANYMORE! THE GUY WITH THE TOP HAT IS THE BEST!" Sadako's voice soared triumphantly—

(Hanako-san slowly straightened up in her chair…)

"NOOOO!" wailed Reiko-san, "I SAID THE GUY WITH THE BIGGER HEAD IS—"

(And stood up.)

"WILL YOU GUYS FUCKING _SHUT UP_? CALM DOWN AND BEHAVE YOURSELVES! YOU, IMOUTO SAKURA, _LET GO OF MY WATER BOTTLE_! WE ARE AT ST. LUCIA'S ACADEMY, ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS HIGH SCHOOLS IN ALL OF JAPAN! SO _ACT_ LIKE THE RESPONSIBLE STUDENTS YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, AND NOT LIKE _MINDLESS IDIOTS_ WHO FAWN OVER FRICKIN' BIG HEADS AND _**TOP HATS!**_"

It worked.

In a nanosecond, our table was the quietest cafeteria table I had ever heard or seen.

Of course, I was used to Hanako-san's bursts of outrage, so...I didn't really mind.

Imouto-san looked sheepishly gleeful.

Lee-san looked chastised.

Michiko-san looked heartbroken.

And Arisa-san…?

She hadn't said a word throughout this whole screaming fiasco.

Everyone turned to stare at Rusoko Arisa-san, who was silently reading her manga with a most absorbed expression on her face. Don't tell me she didn't even hear what was going on? It might have lasted only 10 seconds, but we were easily the loudest table in the cafeteria.

(Come to think of it, the overall din was deafening. We probably weren't as disruptive as Hanako-san thought.)

It's funny…I thought Arisa-san seemed the type to go all "fangirl" over the "pretty boy" type. She certainly is bubbly enough.

"Hey Arisa-san…" I said slowly, "Did you hear…what just happened?"

Arisa-san lowered her manga and looked at me, her eyes blank and clueless. We all watched expectantly as my words processed themselves incredibly slowly in her brain.

A few minutes later she piped up…

"What happened?"

Hanako-san fell to the ground in hysterical laughter. I guess around people like this, she couldn't stay rational forever.

I hope no one would notice my name on the back of that picture and realize that I was indirectly the cause of all this.

But Imagine. Everyday, if I could have lunch like this, I knew I would always be in for a surprise. With unpredictable people like this, every single day would be physically and mentally draining.

However, if this is what it meant to have friends...

I wouldn't mind.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Teehee, "order in the court"...this lunchtime episode makes me smile :) For so many reasons...what a dysfunctional group of friends these people are turning out to be. Kinda like Higurashi, where Keiichi joins the club of these four girls who make his days hysterically worthwhile. At first. After a while, he starts to get paranoid... :3 **


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